The Santa Clause Fanfic

Dreams or Reality?

The next morning was Christmas day, Merry woke up to the sound of her little brother calling her name to come down stairs and see the presents left under the tree. Her eyes fluttered open to see she was back in the guest room of her dad's house, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes until the sound of a bell brought her to reality. She touched the bell around her neck until Charlie bursts through the door, grabbing his sister by the hand. "Come on, Merry, get up!" he begged, "You gotta see the presents downstairs!"
"I'm coming, Charlie, don't worry" said Merry, slowly getting out of bed in her blue pajamas from the North Pole. She followed her little brother down the stairs to see beautiful presents under the tree, a smile appearing on her face. "I'm gonna get Dad" said Charlie, rushing up the stairs as Merry makes her way toward the presents. One particular present caught her eye, a beautiful red box with a green ribbon and tag that read 'Merry' in cursive. She carefully picks up, opening it to reveal a beautiful handcrafted doll, the very doll she was admiring back at Santa's Workshop.

She delicately picks up the doll and notices a small letter attached to the dress with a red wax holly seal. Merry carefully removed it to read the note which said,
'Merry Christmas, Sugarplum. I noticed how much you admired this doll, so I saved it especially for you. Don't worry, your dad didn't damage it. Be sure to report anything about the Sanctification process to me.
Yours truly, Bernard'
Merry smiled at the note until she pulled herself back to reality when Charlie came down the stairs. Scott came rushing down the stairs in red pajamas towards the front door, seeing if last night's events really happened. "I'm gonna check if Dad's okay," said Merry, placing her present down before making her way towards the front door. Scott was digging in the snow where Santa fell last light, seeing if anything was left behind, even looking up on the roof to see if reindeer were up there. "Dad?" asked Merry, "Are you okay? You seem a little stressed"
"Y-yeah, I'm okay sweetheart" said Scott, "D-Did you see anything weird last night? I thought-"
"I'll just make you a cup of joe"
"Yeah, that um... that'll be great, thanks"

Scott made his way back inside, plopping himself on the couch as Charlie admired his Christmas presents. The boy glanced at his dad with concern and walked toward him asking, "Are you okay, Dad? Are you having a heart attack? I know CPR"
"He's okay, Charlie" said Merry, handing her father his cup of coffee before sitting next to him, "Probably exhausted from last night's events"
"Yeah, what she said" said Scott, taking a moment before glancing at his daughter, "Wait a minute, what events?"
"You know, the whole Santa falling off the roof thing and the North Pole. You're even wearing the PJs they gave you"
Scott looks down at the initials on the breast pocket of his PJs which had "S.C" embroidered
"S.C.?" he asked himself until Charlie reminds him that the initials mean 'Santa Clause' which also happened to the initials for 'Scott Calvin'

The doorbell rings, which means Laura was there to pick up Charlie and Merry from Scott's house. She greeted her kids with hugs and smiles before the kids headed upstairs to change and collect their things, including their presents. Laura wasn't very pleased to see Scott, but smiled in greeting, "Nice PJs, very festive" she said, "Same for Merry. Where'd you guys get them?"
"I don't know" answered Scott
"Judy gave them to you" said Charlie, collecting his toys after changing. Laura wasn't too pleased that a woman named 'Judy' gave Scott and her daughter festive PJs. Charlie went on about their trip to the North Pole, which his mother didn't really believe in. Of course, a parent wouldn't believe their child went to the "North Pole" and met elves on Christmas Eve. Laura thought Charlie was making things up to show what a respectable father he was.

Merry was making her way to the car with her things, Neil waiting outside to help the kids. "So, how was Christmas with your dad, kiddo?" asked Neil, trying to make small talk with the teenager. It was pretty clear that Merry wasn't a big fan of Neil, but she had to put up with him for her mother's sake.
"Not too bad" she said, "It was a bit of a ruckus last night, but everything turned out okay in the end"
Neil nods before glancing at the silver bell around Merry's neck, "Oh that's a pretty necklace you got there" he said, "Did your dad give it to you?"
Merry blinked before looking down at the necklace, "Oh no, a uh... friend gave it to me" she lied, "Wanted to come over and give me a Christmas gift before leaving for winter break"
"I see, well it's very festive. I like it"
"Glad you do"

Once Charlie steps outside, Merry opens the car door for him to step inside while she follows suit. Scott comes out to question his kids, "About what you said in the house, who showed you around the workshop?"
"The elves" said Charlie
"What kind of a question is that, Dad?" asked Merry
"How did you and I get the pajamas then?" asked Scott
"I told you, Judy" said Charlie
Scott thought Charlie was talking about the waitress at the dinner named Judy, which confused him for a moment until Laura glanced at her ex-husband in disbelief. "What's this all about?" asked Neil, confused by all this
"Dad took me and Merry to the North Pole, and Larry showed me the workshop" said Charlie, "Bernard showed Merry around as well"
Before the boy could say anything else, Merry quickly covered Charlie's mouth to prevent him from speaking. "Okay! That's enough cocoa for you, buddy" she said, trying to play it cool, "Wouldn't want to keep Neil's parents waiting for us to come home"
Scott closed the car door while Laura and Neil got in and drove off, leaving him bewildered about the events from last night. He muttered to himself about 'The Santa Clause' until he shook it off, thinking it was just a dream.

Sometime after arriving at Neil's house, Merry was in her bedroom laying on her bed after displaying the doll she got for Christmas on her dresser. She was starting to question whether or not her experience in the North Pole was a dream or reality. She sits up and fiddles with the bell around her neck, debating if it would work or not. Merry gently removes the bell from the chain, ringing it softly three times, the sound of it was both elegant yet soft. She waits a few seconds before stepping off her bed in disappointment. "Nice place you got here, Sugarplum" said a familiar voice, causing Merry to turn around and see Bernard looking around the room.
"It was real" said Merry, "The North Pole, Santa falling off my Dad's roof, the binding contract, everything"
"Of course, it was real. What made you think it wasn't?"
Merry went silent as Bernard steps towards her, cornering her to a wall and placing his hands on either side of her head, "Does this seem real to you?" he asked
Merry was speechless at this point, blushing at the closeness as Bernard looked her dead in the eye. She only responds with a nod, causing the head elf to smirk. "Good" he said before pulling away, "Now you know it's real"

Benard takes a few steps back for Merry to take a breather, waiting ever so patiently for her to calm down. Once Merry is finally relaxed, the head elf smiled and said, "You know this more than anyone else" he said, "Seeing isn't believing, believing is seeing"
Before Merry could ask any questions, a knock on the door was heard. "Merry?" asked her mother, "Are you okay in there? I thought I heard some noise"
"Nothing, mom, nothing" said Merry, "It's probably the heater again"
"Okay, sweetheart. Be sure to come down for Christmas dinner, Neil made you and Charlie's favorite"
"Uh, yeah, I'll be right-" Merry turns to see Bernard has magically disappeared into thin air, "down"
She starts looking around her bedroom for any signs of the head elf, but to no avail or even a note. After a while, Merry decided to give up finding Bernard and head downstairs for dinner with the family, making sure to keep the silver bell close to her heart.